Why 10 Daily Tons of Ant Poop Keep This Rainforest Thriving

High up in the rainforest canopy of Panama’s Barro Colorado Island, there are ants everywhere. Azteca ants—one kind of 30 different ant species that might be in a given tree—stand out because of their epic, 9 foot (2.74 meter) tall hanging nests… and the ant poop that falls from them.

What’s the ant poop made of and how does its chemistry affect the ecosystem of the forest? Hazard a guess: Which of these two plants was fertilized with ant poop?

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